The Future of Food Retailing - Focus on Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, and Natural Channel Grocery Shopping Trends

DUBLIN, December 4, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

The "Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, and Natural Channel Grocery Shopping: The Future of Food Retailing" report has been added to Research and Markets' offering.

Defined by the number who shop there at least once a month, Trader Joe's draws 10.5% of U.S. adults as customers, compared with 6.3% for Whole Foods. In contrast to a 10-year compound annual growth rate of only 0.2% in the customer base for Kroger, as the conventional supermarket kingpin, and a declining percentage draw since 2007 among most of the leading conventional supermarket banners, Trader Joe's has posted a 10-year CAGR in customer base of 5.9%, and Whole Foods of 4.9%. But notwithstanding the multi-decade phenomenon of Whole Foods and Trader Joe's, the natural channel remains a fragment of food retailing overall. The U.S. grocery retailing business has never been more competitive, and this may be especially so for retailers featuring natural and organic foods.

A number of trends are putting pressure on food retailers of all stripes, from upscale natural grocers like Whole Foods to heavily price-focused supercenters like Walmart and discount/limited-assortment grocers like ALDI, to dollar stores such as Dollar General for which food is a smaller but growing part of the mix. Among the trends reshaping the competitive landscape are food deflation driven by heavy discounting, shakeups among major chains, and heightened brick-and-mortar competition spurred by U.S. expansion of Germany-based discount/limited-assortment retailers ALDI and Lidl. At the same time, grocery shoppers' ever-growing expectation that the natural and organic foods they want will be available where they shop is increasingly positioning natural and organic as an essential competitive chip.

This makes for a whole new ball game for natural channel grocers. Gone are the days when the biggest worry of pure-play natural retailers like Whole Foods and Trader Joe's were other specialists and local natural grocers: while they still face off against the likes of Sprout's, Fresh, Thyme, and Natural Grocers, consumer demand has broadened the market to include any grocery retailer worth its salt. In June 2017, moreover, Amazon rocked the grocery and e-commerce worlds with the announcement of its acquisition of Whole Foods. Amazon's surge into brick-and-mortar grocery has established grocers duly alarmed, since Amazon has a long history of sacrificing short-term profits to win market share and traffic, gaining formidable efficiency along the way.

Scope and Methodology

Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, and Natural Channel Grocery Shopping analyzes the trends shaping the market, including the snow-balling impact of Millennials as avid shoppers both online andin-store. In addition to a comprehensive assessment of Whole Foods and Trader Joe's, this report profiles natural and organic foods retailers across the full spectrum, including pure-play retailers like Earth Fare, Fresh Thyme, Lucky's, Natural Grocers, Sprouts, and The Fresh Market; traditional and non-traditional grocers including Albertsons/Safeway, ALDI, Costco, Kroger, Lidl, Publix, Sam's Club, Walmart, and Wegmans; and e-tailers including Amazon.com, Door to Door Organics, and Thrive Market.

Key Topics Covered:

CHAPTER 1: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

TRENDS & OPPORTUNITIES
Market in Context
Trends and Opportunities

THE NATURAL CHANNEL SHOPPER
Trader Joe's and Whole Foods
Sprouts Farmers Markets
Local Natural Grocers

WHOLE FOODS MARKET
Company Overview
Amazon Acquires Whole Foods
Company Mission and Ethics
Quality Standards and Programs
Store Placement Strategy
New Store Size Shrinking
Whole Foods Teams Up with Instacart for Home Delivery
Whole Paycheck Image Hard to Shake, but Multiple Efforts Ongoing
365 Everyday Value Store Brand: Fill Your Pantry Without Emptying Your Pocketbook
The 365 by Whole Foods Market Retail Format: Strategy and Risk
Prepared Foods and In-Store Dining

TRADER JOE'S
Company Overview
Competitive Advantages
Private Label Fame
Attractive Pricing
Some Criticisms in Press

THE RETAIL COMPETITION
Introduction
Retailer Profiles: Natural Specialty Chains
Retailer Profiles: Mainstream Grocers
Internet Retailers

CHAPTER 2: TRENDS & OPPORTUNITIES

CHAPTER HIGHLIGHTS

MARKET IN CONTEXT
Natural Foods Channel a Small but Dynamic Segment of Food Retailing
Grocery Retailing More Competitive Than Ever
Food Deflation and Pricing Pressure
Retailer Upheaval: Consolidation, Reevaluation, and Bankruptcy
Market Entry of Lidl Further Increases Pricing Pressure
E-Commerce Going Gangbusters

TRENDS AND OPPORTUNITIES
Brick + Click
Walmart Fields Multiple Shopping Apps, Natural Retailers Behind the Curve
Wireless and Screenless (Think Alexa) Payment
Brick-and-Mortar Grocers Developing Click-and-Collect
Brick-and-Mortar Grocers Building out Home Delivery Options, Including Via Instacart
Self-Checkout and Frictionless Shopping
Smaller Stores Bigger Than Ever
Exclusive Brands, National Brands, and Amazon Consumer Demand for Natural, Organic, and Clean Label
Shoppers Overall, 2017 (percent of and index among adults)
Earth Fare and Whole Foods Creating Safe Havens for Non-GMO Shoppers
The Future of Trader Joe's (and ALDI)
Whole Foods, Kroger, and Amazon Tapping into Meal Kits Boom
Prepared Foods an Increasingly Important Competitive Chip for Brick-and-Mortar Retailers
Value Pricing a Growing Watchword in Natural and Organic Grocery Retailing
Millennials Big Online - and In-store

CHAPTER 3: THE NATURAL CHANNEL SHOPPER

CHAPTER HIGHLIGHTS

TRADER JOE'S AND WHOLE FOODS
Trader Joe's Outpaces Whole Foods, Conventional Supermarkets in Customer Growth
Whole Foods Shoppers Shop Trader Joe's More Than Vice Versa
Trader Joe's Customers Hew Closer to Grocery Expenditures Norm
Overview of Trader Joe's vs. Whole Foods Demographics
Trader Joe's and Whole Foods Shopper Psychographics

SPROUTS FARMERS MARKETS
Cross-Shopping Patterns
Demographic Patterns
Food and Nutrition Psychographics
Channel Shoppers Overall, 2017 (percent of and index among adults)
Grocery Shopping Psychographics
Channel Shoppers Overall, 2017 (percent of and index among adults)

LOCAL NATURAL GROCERS
Cross-Shopping Patterns
Demographic Patterns
Food and Nutrition Psychographics
Channel Shoppers Overall, 2017 (percent of and index among adults)
Grocery Shopping Psychographics
Channel Shoppers Overall, 2017 (percent of and index among adults)

CHAPTER 4: WHOLE FOODS MARKET

CHAPTER HIGHLIGHTS
Company Overview
Amazon Acquires Whole Foods
Company History
Company Mission and Ethics
Quality Standards and Programs
Store Placement Strategy
Stores with Unique Features
New Store Size Shrinking
Whole Foods Teams Up with Instacart for Home Delivery
Whole Paycheck Image Hard to Shake, But Multiple Efforts Ongoing
Whole Deals Print Newsletter Out, App-Based and Online Coupon Program In
365 Everyday Value Store Brand: Fill Your Pantry Without Emptying Your Pocketbook
The 365 by Whole Foods Market Retail Format: Strategy and Risk
Stores in Inner-City Neighborhoods
Prepared Foods and In-Store Dining

CHAPTER 5: TRADER JOE'S

CHAPTER HIGHLIGHTS
Company Overview
Company History
Trader Joe's and ALDI: Separate but Comparable
Competitive Advantages
Private Label Fame
Fun Atmosphere
A Carefully Curated Product Mix
Attractive Pricing, and Increasingly So Vis--Vis Whole Foods
Trader Joe's Fearless Flyer Newsletter: Something of an Institution
Community Involvement
Some Criticism in Press

CHAPTER 6: THE RETAIL COMPETITION

CHAPTER HIGHLIGHTS

INTRODUCTION
Beyond Whole Foods and Trader Joe's
A Volatile Market
E-commerce in the Natural and Organic Foods Market

RETAILER PROFILES: NATURAL SPECIALTY CHAINS
Earth Fare
Fresh Thyme Farmers Market
Lucky's Market
Natural Grocers (Vitamin Cottage Natural Food Markets)
Sprouts Farmers Market
The Fresh Market

RETAILER PROFILES: MAINSTREAM GROCERS
Albertsons/Safeway
ALDI
Costco
Kroger
Lidl
Publix
Sam's Club
Walmart
Wegmans

INTERNET RETAILERS
Overview
Amazon.com: AmazonFresh, Prime Now, and Prime Pantry
Thrive Market
Door to Door Organics
Other Online Grocery Delivery Services

Companies Mentioned

• Albertsons/Safeway
• ALDI
• Amazon
• Costco
• Door to Door Organics
• Earth Fare
• Fresh Thyme Farmers Market
• Kroger
• Lidl
• Luckys Market
• Meijer
• Natural Grocers
• Publix
• Sam's Club
• Sprouts Farmers Market
• The Fresh Market
• Thrive Market
• Trader Joe's
• Walmart
• Wegmans
• Whole Foods

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/rtv3jw/whole_foods

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Research and Markets
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